EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 115.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,714 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,067 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of APA by 5,718.2% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of APA by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in APA by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in APA by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APA. Raymond James downgraded shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.70.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $20.03 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.23. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $17.66 and a 52-week high of $36.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. On average, analysts expect that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

APA Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.